"Hummus is the hardest thing to get right," chef Michael Solomonov says. "It has to be rich, creamy and mildly nutty." To make his hummus luxuriously smooth, he soaks the chickpeas overnight with baking soda to soften them. While Americans now flavor hummus with everything from pureed red peppers to fresh herbs, Solomonov says among the fanciest garnishes you can find in Israel are whole chickpeas, paprika and lemon-spiked tahini, used for hummus masabacha.

Soft, sweet and earthy, roasted beets make for a vivid pink dip that’s a fun take on hummus. If you are pressed for time, use the preroasted beets available in many supermarket produce sections instead of roasting your own.

Michael Solomonov makes his signature hummus at Zahav with an unusually generous amount of tahini—something that distinguishes the hummus of his native Israel from that of other Middle Eastern countries. He tops the dish with warm chickpeas fried with jalapeño, cumin and crushed Aleppo pepper.